Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Looking down at himself, he frowned like he’d just realized what he was wearing before glancing back at me. “I don’t get to dress up much during my usual fieldwork.”
Okay, that actually made sense.
“Not roughing it here. I get that.” Pointing to the audience, I shrugged. “It was one of the things they’ve been confused about.”
“Oh.” Frowning, he slowly nodded. “That explains some of the questions I’ve gotten.”
Probably not enough of them, but maybe a few.
“And I had a couple last year give all the right answers to go off trail but then they turned out to have no idea what they were doing and they drove me crazy.” It’d been bad. “I just wanted to make sure you’d actually seen bugs in the wild and you know that the outside has dirt.”
He just blinked at me for a moment.
“This town keeps getting weirder and weirder.” He had no idea, but I just nodded to keep him going. “Um, yes. I understand the outside has dirt and bugs. I need to see the bugs. I also can tell you which bugs are edible and I’ve hiked large parts of the Appalachian Trail when I was in college.”
“Perfect.” I couldn’t handle another idiot who passed out when they got dirty. “I’ve got some free time this week, so just let me know when you want to start.”
Hopefully I could get one of the mages to fix whatever they’d fucked up, but if not, I could make sure our bug doctor didn’t get lost.
“How about now?” He looked around himself like he was seeing what he had with him and then realized it was nothing. “Oh, maybe not.”
The way everyone sighed like he was adorable made him frown, but he didn’t ask what they were doing even though he clearly had no idea what was going on.
“How about we start first thing in the morning?” Leaning back in the bench, I ignored the ridiculousness going on around us. “That will give us the afternoon for you to explain what you’re looking for and we can make a plan. I need to know what kind of environment we’re looking for and how far you want to go on our first trip.”
Making sure the bug cutie knew we’d go out more than once seemed like the best plan. He was the type that looked like he needed expectations set up front.
I knew I was right when he went still again and his vague nod came back. “Yes, we’ll need more than one trip. I was planning on exploring the area for a few weeks but research has been difficult. I wasn’t expecting to need a local guide.”
Because he hadn’t been expecting the fucking trails to be disappearing right and left.
“We’ll make sure you can get your research accomplished.” And hopefully, I could talk him into staying longer.
The bug cutie couldn’t seem to decide if he believed that was possible or not, but he was too polite to say so. “Thank you.”
Yep.
“You’re welcome.” Trying to stick with the manners he fell back on when he was confused, I ignored the giggles coming from around us. “Did you have work scheduled this afternoon?”
That was definitely a topic he was more comfortable with because he sat straighter and became more animated. “Yes. Unfortunately it’s not fieldwork, but I have some papers to complete and emails to respond to.”
“I would agree that fieldwork is more fun than paperwork.” That made his smile wider. “But looking at the maps and talking about the hike can be just as fun, so how about I pick you up later and we’ll have dinner as we go over the options and your goals.”
He let out a quiet hum as he studied me curiously. “That…that would make getting started tomorrow easier.”
Justifying or honest response?
“I agree.” But that was only one of the reasons I suggested it. “I’m curious about what you’re looking for and mornings are my favorite time to get up into the mountains.”
Something about my response seemed to help him relax even more, and he smiled again, giving me a peek at what he was hiding under the blank wall he’d built around himself. “It’s a wonderful time to get out. I tried to do it this morning but it didn’t go as planned.”
And the frown was back.
“I think there’s something getting me turned around up here.” Bouncing between wearing a confused expression and a frustrated one, he sighed. “I usually have a very good sense of direction.”
I bet.
“I’m sure you do.” The last thing I wanted was for him to feel stupid or for him to think I thought he was incompetent. “Something about the area can fuck with people’s sense of direction. It’s not uncommon and that’s part of the reason our online reviews are so weird.”
That was one reason for them.